First Lady Michelle Obama Hires New Commitments for Veterans and Military Spouses

First Lady Michelle Obama Hires New Commitments for Veterans and Military Spouses

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In 2011, President Obama announced a challenge to the private sector to train or hire 100,000 unemployed veterans or their spouses by the end of 2013.

Today, President Barack Obama, along with First Lady Michelle Obama, and Vice President Joe Biden participated in a Joining Forces Employment initiative at the White House.

President Barack Obama established a goal when asking the private to train or hire 100,000 veterans and military spouses by the latter stages of 2013. Today, the First Lady announced that domestic businesses nearly tripled this goal and did so 8 months in advance of the target date. The private sector has already trained or hired over 290,000 veterans and military spouses.

In addition to this fantastic news, the First Lady also announced that domestic companies have committed to train or hire an additional 435,000 veterans and military spouses over the next five years.

Some of the American companies that stood out with regards to training or hiring military veterans include:

•The BNSF Railroad committed to hire 5,000 veterans and spouses over the next five years

•UPS committed to hire over 25,000 veterans and military spouses over the next five years

•McDonald’s committed to hire 100,000 veterans and military spouses over the next five years

•Home Depot promised to hire 55,000 veterans and military spouses through 2018

•Deloitte has promised to double its veteran hiring over the next three years

•AT&T promised to create an online military talent exchange to facilitate military hiring

•The BlackStone Group urged each of its 50,000 managers to hire at least one veteran in its affiliated businesses

In addition to these announcements, the First Lady also shared stories from veterans who have successfully transitioned into second careers. With the Iraq war finished and the war in Afghanistan nearing its end, more than one million service members are expected to transition back to civilian life within the next couple of years. Respectable civilian jobs will not only help our military families manage their transition to normalcy, but will also demonstrate that our nation truly appreciates their service.